Jude and Noah are twins and have always been very close — Jude the popular, wild daredevil who is outgoing and fun and Noah the quiet, artistic outcast who loves the boy next door. The cracks in Noah and Jude’s relationship start to form at age 13/14 and one event will completely shatter them (told through Noah’s perspective) and then 3 years later the twins, who are stranger to each other and barely speaking, will start to find their way back to each other (told through Jude’s perspective)..

1. I’ve read books that I consider great works of art but I’ll Give You The Sun is the Sistine Chapel ceiling of them all: I’ve been to the Sistine chapel and Michelangelo’s creation is breathtaking and one glance up at the ceiling isn’t enough to take it all. That is I’ll Give You The Sun. You just stare up at the magnificent ceiling in awe trying to fathom how Michelangelo even accomplished that which is how I felt while reading this book. How are these words perfectly strung together so perfectly? How do you make me feel that with just a sentence? How did you pull off this storytelling so perfectly? It’s complex and intricate and just shows the magnitude of Jandy Nelson’s gift — something so rare and special that could give me something new upon every read. There’s an inventiveness that truly is stunning, awe-inspiring and a bit magical.

2. The kind of deep, soul-rooted emotional reaction I had to this book is something I feel like I can’t even explain: The way these words and this story made me feel in the very depths of me is what makes a favorite book for me. This book had the plot and characters and the writing but the emotions that Jandy Nelson evoked with this one just felt like she reached into my soul and exposed the barest of my emotions. I was a flood of tears at certain points of this book because the way certain things come together are just devastatingly heartbreaking or overwhelmingly beautiful.

3. The way this story was told is SO effective: So it takes a little bit to get used to the timeline of this novel but basically we read from each twin’s point of view but at different places in time. So we see the beginnings of the story, and the beginning of their fractured relationship, with a young Noah’s point of view and then it alternates to Jude’s point of few several years later and in the present. It’s heartbreaking because, as the reader, we see some of the things that the other twins know which makes the fracture between them overwhelming and devastating. We KNOW secrets and key pieces that they are missing that could help repair their relationship. We carry the burden of their secrets and biggest hurts. As the story progresses, we find out things and they find out things and you just feel them being pulled back together to the point where they will both know the things that each other knows. The way things are told and revealed just really added to the emotional reaction I had and kept me turning the pages because I needed to know each twin’s part in the story!!

4. I will never ever forget Jude and Noah’s story: Never ever. Their passion and their grief and their sadness and EVERYTHING…it just isn’t something that can go away quickly. It leaps off the pages and I just still think about them all these months later. Their triumphs and their losses and their defining moments felt like they were mine as well.

+ EVERYTHING — but if I have to narrow it down — writing, plot, storytelling, EMOTIONAL REACTION, characters. It’s just a Jamie book so everything is perfect.– NADA

Re-readability: Oh yes.Would I buy a copy for my collection? UM YEAH.

fans of Jandy Nelson’s The Sky Is Everywhere obviously, people who like poetic and lyrical writing, fans of Melina Marchetta/Cath Crowley/Hilary T. Smith, fans of siblings stories, people who like books that are both heartbreaking and beautiful, lovers of character driven novels, people looking for a unique read, fans of books that make you think, PEOPLE WHO THINK YA CANNOT BE LITERARY (read this and I dare you to tell me that again!)

There is a reason that I said Jandy Nelson was a favorite author after The Sky Is Everywhere and I’ll Give You The Sun solidifies that tenfold. You don’t just read a Jandy book — you live it. I’ll Give You The Sun was one of the most all-consuming reading experiences ever. It’s mesmerizing, beautifully written and packs the kind of emotional depth that feels like a tidal wave to the heart. I’ll Give You The Sun is the best book I’ve read in 2014 and I really doubt anything else can dethrone that this year. There’s a reason we’ve all been waiting YEARS for a new Jandy book.

* Have you read this one? What did you think? Similar or different from me? I would LOVE to hear regardless!
*If you haven’t read it, does it feel like something you’d be into?
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If you know me, you know that Jandy Nelson is one of my favorite authors (she wrote The Sky Is Everywhere and the soon to be released I’ll Give You The Sun). I’m pretty sure that you should know that. Her books are just something out of this world and I damn near lost my shit meeting her at BEA this year. I might have scared her but I’m hoping my heart eyes and ecstatic praise translated more HUGE FAN than creeper. But seriously these words, people:

So when I was approached to possibly do an interview with Jandy Nelson I was like OH MY GOD YES OF COURSE ALWAYS. But then I realized I actually had to form coherent questions and that interviewing didn’t mean exclaiming my love (though TOTALLY did….disguised as Super Smart Interview Questions).

BUT I DID IT. I PREVAILED. And her interview answers are even freaking works of art. NOT HUMAN I TELL YOU. So for your pleasure, here are 3 of my most burning questions I asked Jandy Nelson. Just as an FYI for you — there are NO spoilers so you are safe to read my questions and her answers!

1. In both The Sky Is Everywhere & I’ll Give You the Sun you feature really layered relationships between siblings (which I love because my relationship with my sister has been a HUGE part of my life). What is it that draws you to this relationship? Do you have any personal inspiration that you draw from when it comes to writing those relationships?

Thank you! And it’s funny. I didn’t even realize I was writing predominately about sibling relationships in my two novels until people started reading I’ll Give You the Sun and noting it! And my next one The Fall Boys & Dizzy in Paradise is also about three siblings. Writers are so oblivious! But I do find the sibling connection endlessly fascinating as I do all family dynamics. I grew up with older brothers, and like you, they’ve played a huge role in my life. Luckily, unlike Jude and Noah in Sun, we’ve had way more harmony than rivalry over the years. I just adore my brothers, can’t imagine going through life without them, and I definitely think I draw on that love when I’m writing siblings—it’s a powerful one, a jump-in-front-of-a-train-to-protect-them kind of love. But more generally, I like how siblings seem to create their own parentless mini-civilization within a family, one that has its own language and humor, its own laws and myths and loyalties and treacheries. Families are such rich fodder for stories—they’re so inherently dramatic and comedic both, like pressure cookers and with the right (or wrong) ingredients, the lid always blows.

2. I LOVED the way I’ll Give You the Sun was told and found it very effective to alternate chapters between young Noah and then Jude years later. Did you know from the beginning that you weren’t going to follow a linear path to tell this story? Were there any difficulties in alternating in this manner?

That makes me so happy you enjoyed the structure. Honestly, it was a bear to figure out and really challenged me. I knew from the beginning I wanted the novel to be told from both twins’ perspectives and in different timeframes but it took longer for me to figure out what those timeframes would be and how I’d manage the alternating. But early on, I realized that the best way for me to write the book would be to write Noah’s story start to finish, then Jude’s start to finish, always keeping in mind the other’s trajectory. Also, I’d lock the file on one twin during the periods I was writing the other’s story and vice versa to help insure each twin’s voice and world would be distinct. Then once drafts of both twins’ stories were written, I began to braid them together, which was really like writing a whole new novel. At that point, I was about two and a half years into the writing process of the book so that last step involved A LOT of praying that it actually would work!

3. Both The Sky Is Everywhere & I’ll Give You the Sun have made me feel very INTENSE emotions. Do you ever have to step back when you are writing because it is just too intense with what the characters are dealing with?

I’m glad about the INTENSE! And sorry! But more glad. Ironically, usually when my heart starts racing or breaking with what’s going on with the characters I do the opposite of stepping back. That’s actually when I know I have to go for it, go deeper, go full-throttle, because I might be getting at something real and alive and true. As a writer, I think that’s one of the greatest pleasures, no matter how painful it can be. It’s much harder for me to write when I’m not feeling much at all. That said, there have definitely been days when I stagger out of my office, feeling like I’ve been run over by a freight train of emotion!

About Jandy Nelson:

Jandy Nelson, like her characters in I’ll Give you the Sun, comes from a superstitious lot. She was tutored from a young age in the art of the four-leaf clover hunt; she knocks wood, throws salt, and carries charms in her pockets. Her debut novel, The Sky Is Everywhere, was on multiple Best Books of the Year lists, was a YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults pick, earned numerous starred reviews, has been translated widely, and continues to enjoy great international success. Currently a full-time writer, Jandy lives and writes in San Francisco, California—not far from the settings of The Sky Is Everywhere and I’ll Give You the Sun. Visit her online at www.jandynelson.com or find her on twitter at @jandynelson.

Got burning questions of your own?
Penguin Teen is hosting a Twitter chat with Jandy Nelson, Stephanie Perkins, and Gayle Forman on September 5th at 7:00 PM EST. IT IS LIKE THE TRIFECTA OF MY FAVORITE AUTHORS NIGHT!! Follow along using #PenguinTeenChat!

Pre-order your copy of I’ll Give You the Sun today! Want a signed / personalized copy? They’re available for pre-order from Books Inc. in San Francisco!

Be sure to check out the rest of the blog tour for additional interviews, guest posts from the author, giveaways, and more!

I’ll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson

What I’ll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson is about:

Jude and Noah are twins and have always been very close — Jude the popular, wild daredevil who is outgoing and fun and Noah the quiet, artistic outcast who loves the boy next door. The cracks in Noah and Jude’s relationship start to form at age 13/14 and one event will completely shatter them (told through Noah’s perspective) and then 3 years later the twins, who are stranger to each other and barely speaking, will start to find their way back to each other (told through Jude’s perspective).

Why You Should Be Saving The Date for I’ll Give You The Sun:

1. The writing is just absolutely gorgeous: In typical Jandy fashion, the writing is just so damn beautiful. It’s an art form with the way she writes — vivid and beautiful imagery and metaphors and these sentences that just evoke so much feeling. I was absolutely tangled up in her prose and wanted to stay there forever.

2. The way the story is told kept me turning the pages: The (very long) chapters are told in alternating fashion — chapters where 13/14 year old Noah tells the story and then 16 year old Jude tells the story 3 years later. So we see the beginning fractures to their relationship through Noah’s eyes and we see where they are in the present through Jude’s eyes and it was just SO effective to hear from both of the twins and also heartbreaking as a reader because we KNOW secrets and key pieces that they are missing that could help repair their relationship. We carry the burden of their secrets and biggest hurts.

3. It’s the best book I’ve read all year: This book was 100% a Jamie book. I’ve already mentioned the FLAWLESS writing but it was just the kind of intensely beautiful and heartbreaking book that always burrows itself inside my heart. Memorable characters, moments that steal your breath away and a portrait of humanness so raw it hurts at times (I wept at times). I wanted to savor it and devour it all at the same time which is the best kind of book for me. Also, I need my finished copy because it WILL be reread ASAP.

4. I finished it and I was speechless. It’s not often that I’m at a loss for words but I’ll Give You The Sun is just a book unlike most. Jandy Nelson is one of the best writers out there in YA and elsewhere and I feel like my words aren’t even worthy enough to begin to talk about this book. The struggle is real, friends, to even begin to try to describe this book. Just experience it and let her writing and storytelling dazzle you. You don’t READ a Jandy Nelson novel, you live it. Her words will ignite you.

Who Should Save The Date: fans of Jandy Nelson’s The Sky Is Everywhere obviously, people who like poetic and lyrical writing, fans of Melina Marchetta/Cath Crowley/Hilary T. Smith (I also likened, when I reviewed Shatter Me, her kind of writing to Jandy’s writing if that helps), fans of siblings stories, people who like books that are both heartbreaking and beautiful, lovers of character driven novels, people looking for a unique read, fans of books that make you think, PEOPLE WHO THINK YA CANNOT BE LITERARY (read this and I dare you to tell me that again!)

A Sneak Peek: “A horrible flailing monster of a noise comes out of me and then the whole disgusting night wants to come out of me too. I run to the side of the road and throw up each grain of beer and that disgusting drag of a cigarette, ever last lying, revolting kiss, until I’m just a bag of clattering bones” (this is taken from the advanced copy and could be subject to change)

“I think the heart of every living thing on earth is beating in my body.” (this is taken from the advanced copy and could be subject to change)

Be on the lookout for my FULL review closer to the release date where I will flesh out my thoughts a little more!

Have you read this one? Are you excited for it?? Putting it on your TBR list?